Worth Full-Price, Matinee or Rental: Matinee or rental. It's been a wasteland at the theaters since the beginning of 2008, so that's probably why I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Still, I would only pay a matinee price as the entertainment value lines up nicely with that dollar amount. It would also make an excellent rental.

Will I Own It On DVD: No. But I would watch it one more time when it comes on HBO/Cinemax/Showtime.

1) I generally enjoy heist movies, and the fact that this film was a period piece based on a true story gave it an interesting twist. The story is set in London in 1971, a backdrop for a bank robbery which is put into motion to steal back incriminating photographs of Princess Margaret involved in an island threesome.

2) With a plethora of high-tech heist films in recent years (see "Ocean's Trilogy", "The Score," "The Italian Job," etc), "The Bank Job" is decidely old school as these amateur thieves just want to drill under the bank vault with a jackhammer. I respected the simplicity.

3) That being said, the the actual robbery was lacking in drama. I felt there should have been a few substantial challenges with the plan itself, but instead, the film focuses the dramatic tension on the fallout from the theft. It successfully manages to convey the problems of making a clean getaway, however, they could have upped the ante starting with the actual heist.

4) Jason Statam performs well as the leader of the small-time group of villians, whose members also include a photographer and a part-time porno actor among others. Saffron Burrows is the femme fatale involved in the heist for her own reasons. Personally, I didn't question her motives too closely as I simply found her very sexy and thus tended to give her the benefit of the doubt.

5) "The Bank Job" also showed just what a swinging time it was in London in the early 70s. It seems that everyone was having sex. Some was kinky and some was semi-distasteful to their parents, others were simply straying outside the bounds of marriage and it seems that most government officials were living it up in high-end brothels compelete with dominatrix chambers. In this last regard, it seems that not much has changed since that time period.

If you enjoy heist films, and have been waiting for months to return to the theater, then you could do far worse than "The Bank Job." It is an extremely competent movie with a solid cast that gave me an enjoyable two hours on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Miss Ash - I bet 'Fatboy' is at least semi-funny. Simon Pegg usually does a good job, so I might catch a matinee, although I need to do it quickly as I think it bombed at the box office opening weekend.

Jlee - It's a small movie that came out of nowhere & the title is super-generic. But it's still a decent little flick if you're in the mood. And I might have to catch Boston Legal now. ha.

NO kidding it's been a wasteland since the year started and now I'm worried they'll just move into teen-oriented summer movies with giving "us" anything of substance.... sooooo, I'm going to keep this on the short list. 'Cuz we have MANY rainy Sundays in my part of the world. Many.

Linda - I was wondering if you caught this one. I wasn't too excited about it until I started reading some reviews as the title seemed boring & I didn't know it was based on a true story. It was a good time & nice to get back to the theater.

Anonymous Boxer - I agree. It's been brutal out there, which may have influenced my views. Ha. Actually, it's a very solid movie, and I share your concerns about summer. We'll see. Finally, no rainy Sundays for you until you get that order out, eh?

And let's face it, really, what more can we ask of a movie than an enjoyable two hours on a rainy Sunday. When we get more, Great! But that's a pretty damn good recommendation in my book because it is so hard to come by even that any longer.